Picking up two boys next week!

[rode0steve]

Hi! First post although Ive been on here quite a lot lately! Ive done my research for a few months now, and I happily placed a deposit on a light ebony and a dark ebony, both male kits a few weeks ago. Its now a week away from when I can finally bring them home and Ive been working hard on their new palace and I wanted to show it off and double check to make sure it looks completely safe!

I have a double ferret nation, all materials in the cage are either metal, fleece, pvc, or kiln dried pine. I am fully aware I need to watch for excessive chewing on the fleece and pvc. I will be using aspen chips for the litter pans, and I have provided two of everything. (water bottle, food dish, houses, etc.) The cage can easily be separated in case of any sort of conflict. I will be adding a 16" full metal wheel in the bottom right corner and lava ledges when they are over 6 months of age. Their cage is in a finished basement that never reaches over 70 degrees, but I still have full control over temperature and humidity. I also have chinchillers that are not placed in the cage yet.

The screws you see on the litter pans are countersunk, and cannot be reached with teeth. Also these chins were raised together so they are already bonded in case that was of concern.

I also have one question.

Should I provide two dust bath containers as well or will one be enough?
(I have a glass candy jar that I will be using)

Thanks!

 

[kalani.anela]

Many people have just one dust container for two chins, and if it's big enough they can even bathe together ! You could have two of you like, the number of bath containers used is pretty much up to you, I assume !

And congrats on the new chins (almost) ! It sounds like you're completely prepared to bring them to a new home, and to care for them properly. Kudos to you !

 

[Amethyst]

For the most part the cage looks great, there are only a few potential issues. First the bridge, the spacing can be a potential leg catcher, leading to a broken leg or foot, or ending up with a hanging chin by a leg or foot. Even if the spacing is small enough right now to prevent a leg or foot getting caught as they chew on it the spacing will get bigger. The other problem is the hanging hay balls, once again a potential leg/foot trap, especially with kits they do some pretty crazy things and a leg or foot could get caught. You also don't need ramps, chins jump not walk, so they can cause more harm then good if it's a ramp that came with the cage, if the fleece gets pulled off, yet again you have a leg/foot/toe trap issue. For young kits it may be ok, but I'd replace it with a ledge or ledges.
Lastly, since they are kits, you didn't say age, but if they are still young the bar spacing of a FN may be too wide and they could get out or get stuck. Normally by about 4 months old, and for sure by 6 months, they are big enough, but some chins grow slower, some faster. If they are still small you will need hardware cloth on the inside of the bars (all around top, bottom, and sides) to prevent escape.

 

[rode0steve]

Left some stuff out

For the spacing, I forgot to mention I have construction mesh on hand that I will be installing. The hay balls were actually something I did not read into until now so thanks for that! Thats an easy fix.

I wondered about the spacing on the bridge but I also kept that within the 1/2 inch range but I can take the bead spacers out easily and take out all of the slack .

As far as the ramp goes, I have extra fleece and have it double stitched, its totally secure not to mention the bar spacing is less than 1/2 inch on the ramp itself. If they chew the fleece that bad Ill catch that early on and then come up with a solution but until then Im not too worried. I would prefer to leave that because I simply raise it to a hook, move the litter pan and I have two separate cages if need be.

Thank you for the advice! Figured Id clear this up now since I still have some time to fix anything.

 

[Smidgeyy]

That cage looks great! Everything I wanted to say was already mentioned. :] Where did you get your ledges?

 

[Justin5609]

Nice cage!

Very nice ledges, also interested in where you got them

 

[lightningturtle]

I can't add anything beyond saying well done! It sounds like you're doing everything right, which can't be praised enough!

 

[rode0steve]

I actually made pretty much everything in the cage! I stole some ideas from some of the other ferret nation cages on here and then just kinda came up with a design in my head and got to work. I dont really have any woodwork experience either so hopefully thats some motivation if anyone was scared to try. Most of the ledges were assembled with dowels and glue, but the ones I thought needed the extra support I used screws.

Here is the new bridge by the way! There are now no gaps and the bridge is tight to avoid pinched toes. I also now have econo hay racks on their way to replace the hay balls. Thank you for all the help. Im so excited it seems like the days are taking forever!

 

[Chinmama]

Very nice! I love your ledges too. And good job with the bridge. A lot of people have them, but the ones with spaces always remind me of broken legs and accidents waiting to happen. Your chinchillas will love this cage.